Businessman kidnapped, murdered in Pune for refusing to pay Rs 2 crore ransom

According to police, when Polekar was out for a morning walk on November 14, he was allegedly kidnapped by Bhame and his aides from the "B B Boys" gang.

A gangster, Yogesh alias Babu Kisan Bhame of Donje village near Sinhagad Fort, recently demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crores or a Jaguar SUV from Polekar and his son Prashant. However, Polekar refused to give into the demand. (Express Archives)

A 70-year-old businessman was kidnapped and murdered by local gangsters after he and his son refused to give them a ransom of Rs 2 crores, said police.
The deceased has been identified as Vitthal Sakharam Polekar, a resident of Polekar Wadi near Sinhagad Fort.

Police said Vitthal Polekar was a government contractor. A gangster, Yogesh alias Babu Kisan Bhame of Donje village near Sinhagad Fort, recently demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crores or a Jaguar SUV from Polekar and his son Prashant. However, Polekar refused to give into the demand.

According to police, when Polekar was out for a morning walk on November 14, he was allegedly kidnapped by Bhame and his aides from the “B B Boys” gang.
Vitthal’s daughter Sonali had then lodged a complaint of kidnapping at the Haveli police station of Pune rural police. In the complaint, Polekar’s family raised suspicions about Bhame’s involvement in the kidnapping.

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Police launched a search for Polekar and Bhame. During investigation, police nabbed three suspects, one from Pune and two from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Following their interrogation, police recovered pieces of a dead body, suspected to be of Vitthal Polekar, from the Khadakwasla dam backwater at Osade village on Saturday morning. Police sent the pieces for DNA test and search is on for one more accused wanted in the crime.
Superintendent of Pune rural police Pankaj Deshmukh said they are adding murder charges to the FIR.

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